1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motors including a bearing mechanism using fluid dynamic pressure have often been used in storage disk drives. A spindle motor disclosed in JP-A 2009-136143 includes a fixed shaft, an annular bearing component, a rotor component, and an annular cover. The bearing component is arranged on an upper end portion of the fixed shaft. The bearing component is integrally provided with the fixed shaft. The rotor component is arranged radially outward of the fixed shaft. The annular cover is arranged above the bearing component. A radially outer end portion of the annular cover is adhered to an upper end portion of the rotor component. An outer circumferential surface of the bearing component is arranged opposite an inner circumferential surface of the upper end portion of the rotor component. A seal gap is defined between the outer circumferential surface of the bearing component and the inner circumferential surface of the upper end portion of the rotor component. The seal gap is covered by the annular cover. Paragraph 0043 of JP-A 2009-136143 states: “The annular cover 330 defines a labyrinth seal 348 arranged to additionally seal the seal gap 332 together with an upper end surface of the bearing component 318.” In some motors, a cap member is arranged in a rotating portion to cover a seal gap. The motor described in JP-A 2009-136143 is an example of one of these motors. In such a motor, there is a gap between the cap member and a component of a stationary portion which defines the seal gap, and this gap may permit an evaporated lubricating oil to pass therethrough to an outside of the motor. Moreover, an attempt to ensure sufficient rigidity of the cap member by increasing the thickness of the cap member leads to a failure to reduce the overall thickness of the motor. Moreover, a reduction in the thickness of the cap member may result in a reduction in the precision with which the cap member is shaped, and may lead to a contact of the cap member with the stationary portion during rotation of the motor.
In the motor described in JP-A 2009-136143, a housing cover 50 is fixed together with a shaft 12. In this case, it is difficult to securely fix the housing cover 50 to the shaft 12, and reliability of the spindle motor may decrease.